Self-Replicating Copyright Lawsuits

Now that the Pirate Bay has run out of appeals, it owes about €550,000 to various record labels. If the labels ever collect, their plan is not to pay back the artists who lost the profits that, in theory, add up to about €550,000. Nope, “there is an agreement that any recovered funds will be paid to IFPI Sweden and IFPI London for use in future anti-piracy activities.”

Fortunately, the Pirate Bay wasn’t making much money from all that piracy, so there is little chance the judgment will ever be paid:

So far very little has been recovered as the individuals have no traceable assets in Sweden and the Enforcement Agency has no powers to investigate outside Sweden. There seems little realistic prospect of recovering funds

Anyway, it’s not like the labels need any encouragement — financial or otherwise — to keep redirecting artist’s money to lawyers.

Sam Glover is a lawyer and the founder and Editor in Chief of Lawyerist.com. He also works with lawyers on motion practice and appeals, and is President of the board of directors of HOME Line, a nonprofit Minnesota tenant advocacy organization.